A recent survey conducted by The Gallup Organization has found
that 72 percent of adult Americans are falling short of the
Recommended Dietary Allowance for magnesium.

The survey further revealed that 55 percent of all adults are
consuming three-quarters or less of the RDA, while 30 percent are
eating less than half the required amount of the mineral.

The survey also reported that magnesium consumption decreases
as we age, with 79 percent of adults 55 and over reportedly
eating below the RDA for magnesium, and 66 percent are getting
less than three-quarters of their allowamce from food.

For males 19 and over, the RDA for magnesium is 350 mg/day.
For females 19 and over, RDA is 280 mg/day. The RDA for pregnant
women is 320 mg/day; and for breast-feeding women, 355 mg/day for
the first six months and 360 mg/day for the second six
months.

"A potential magnesium deficiency is a matter of concern for
many individuals of all ages, but for the elderly, it could be
particularly serious," said Richard Rivlin, M.D., program
director of the Clinical Nutrition Research Unit at Memorial
Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, and chief of the
Nutrition Division at New York Hospital-Cornell Medical
Center.

"The prevalence of heart disease, diabetes and even leg cramps
increases dramatically among older persons, and these are all
health conditions in which magnesium deficiency has been found,"
Rivlin observed.

He added that, "The Gallup Survey showed a high general
awareness of the importance of nutrients such as vitamin C and
calcium. But it is clear that consumers are largely unaware of
the role of magnesium - a nutrient that is essential for the
function of other minerals like calcium, as well as the normal
operation of the heart and muscles."

A separate Gallup survey of 500 adults with diabetes reported
that 83 percent of those with diabetes are consuming insufficient
magnesium from food, with many by significant margins.
Sixty-eight percent of the men and 56 percent of the non-pregnant
women said they were consuming threequarters or less of their RDA
for the mineral. "This is a concern," said Susan Thom, a
registered dietitian, "Since research has shown a strong
association between magnesium and the body's ability to use
insulin properly."

Insulin is a hormone required to convert glucose (sugar) into
energy. But for diabetics, the body either does not manufacture
sufficient amounts of the hormone or is unable to process it.

"In fact," Thom continued, "a consensus panel convened by the
American Diabetes Association has recommended that all persons
with diabetes who are at high risk for high blood pressure be
tested and, if a problem is found, treated with a magnesium
chloride supplement."

In spite of this recommendation, Thom added, only five percent
of the diabetics polled were aware that magnesium deficiency is
prevalent among diabetics.

And 99 percent - of whom more than half (53 percent) have a
history of heart disease and/or are taking diuretics (water pills
to induce urination) - said they had not been advised by a health
care professional about a possible magnesium deficiency.

A magnesium deficiency in diabetics may result in an increased
risk for cardiac arrhythmias, high blood pressure, myocardial
infarction (heart attack) and altered glucose metabolism,
according to Robert K. Rude, M.D., of the Southern California
School of Medicine in Los Angeles, in the October 1992 issue of
Postgraduate Medicine.

He added that a magnesium deficiency is associated with low
blood levels of calcium and potassium.

An initial dose may range from 300 mg/day to 600 mg/day with
medical supervision. Divided doses are suggested to avoid
possible diarrhea. And, he said, the mineral should be used
cautiously by patients with impaired kidney function.

Gabe Mirkin, M.D., a nutrition expert and runner, and coauthor
of the Sportsmedicine Book, reported that exercisers who feel
weak and tired may be suffering from "the mineral blues," which
is characterized as a deficiency of potassium and magnesium
inside muscle cells, according to The Complete Book of Vitamins
and Minerals for Health.

"A loss of magnesium through sweat can bring fatigue and
muscle cramps because of the role the mineral plays in
controlling muscle contraction and regulating the conversion of
carbohydrates to energy," the publication stated.

In foods, potassium and magnesium can be found in nuts,
soybeans, whole grains, fruits and vegetables.

Athletes, body builders, runners and those who perform
strenuous exercise or physical work are advised to make sure
their cellular magnesium levels are up to par, reported Eberhard
Kronhausen, Ed.D., et al., in Formula for Life: The Antioxidant,
Free-Radical Detoxification Program.

"Magnesium is responsible--together with calcium--for the
production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), our most important
high-energy phosphate compound," the authors added. "In addition,
good magnesium levels are needed for optimal muscle contraction
and to sustain the high oxygen consumption necessary for athletic
performance. Research indicates that magnesium facilitates oxygen
delivery to working muscle tissue..."

In addition to its contribution to multiple enzyme systems,
including ATP metabolism in the production of energy, magnesium
plays a role in protecting us against ischemic heart disease,
myocardial infarction, cardiac arrhythmias, high blood pressure,
asthma, preeclampsia and alcohol withdrawal, according to Robert
M. McLean, M.D., of the Yale School of Medicine in New Haven,
Conn., in the January 1994 issue of The American Journal of
Medicine.

He went on to say that the amount of magnesium in the blood
does not necessarily correlate with the amount of the mineral
stored in the body, making a magnesium deficiency difficult to
pinpoint. Low magnesium levels are rather common problems found
in about 65 percent of intensive care patients and about 11
percent of the general patient population, he said.

Magnesium levels can be depleted by such drugs as amphotericin
B, cyclosporine, cisplatin, digojcin, ethanol, gentamicin, loop
diuretics and pentamidine, he added.

A combination of magnesium and malic acid (extracted from
apples and other foods) has been useful in treating some patients
with chronic fatigue syndrome, reported the Spring 1993 issue of
Health Watch, a publication of the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Research Foundation in Santa Barbara, Calif.

Daniel Peterson, M.D., said that the combination of the
mineral and malic acid benefits up to 40 percent of the patients
with chronic fatigue syndrome. Malic acid should be included in
the therapy for these patients, added Jay Goldstein, M.D.

The researchers indicate that fibromyalgia (associated with
muscle and bone aches, pins-and-needles feelings, fatigue,
tension headaches, insomnia, etc.) may not respond to the
magnesium-malic supplement for 48 hours. For chronic fatigue
syndrome, this therapy may take two weeks, they said.

In addition to contributing to ATP production, malic acid is
important in the Krebs cycle, in which fats and sugar are
converted into energy, the researchers continued.

The therapeutic dose that they recommend for patients is six
to 12 tablets/day of malic acid and magnesium hydroxide. The
supplement is to be taken with food and water.

"Those who exercise strenuously need magnesium because it
helps deliver oxygen to the muscles for peak performance,"
according to Rita Aero and Stephanie Rick in Vitamin Power.

Magnesium is vital for converting glycogen into glucose for
use as the body's fuel."

Health food stores carry a variety of magnesium supplements,
and some stores may have the magnesium malate supplement.

Magnesium may be the most critical single supplement affecting
patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), since known
intracellular magnesium deficiencies exist in patients with this
disorder, according to Paul R. Cheney, M.D., PhD., and Charles W.
Lapp, M.D., in the Winter 1994 issue of Health Watch, a
publication of the CFS Research Foundation in Santa Barbara,
Calif.

The authors, whose article originally appeared in the Fall
1993 issue of the CFIDS Chronicle/Cheney Clinic, Charlotte, N.C.,
added that such deficiencies would disrupt adenosine triphosphate
(ATP) synthesis. (ATP can best be described as the energy that
moves muscle contraction, heart beat, etc.)

Since ATP drives the membrane pumps which transport magnesium
into the cell, a vicious cycle could arise in which low ATP
levels give rise to even lower intracellular magnesium, causing
still further ATP reduction, the authors continued.

This might happen, they added, with CFS patients who "crash,"
even though they essentially have normal blood levels of
magnesium. Since solid forms of magnesium may be excreted by the
kidneys of CFS patients without correcting the intracellular
magnesium deficiency, the researchers opt for magnesium
injections.

As additional supplements for CFS patients, the researchers
recommend vitamin B12, high doses of the antioxidants (vitamins C
and E and beta carotene) and COQ10.

"People with chronic fatigue syndrome usually feel better when
they supplement their diets with magnesium," reported James B.
Pierce, Ph.D., in his book, Heart Healthy Magnesium. "People with
Graves disease...tend to have magnesium deficiencies, too. If you
live or work in a stressful environment, or are over 59 years
old, you are also a candidate for magnesium deficiency."

In her book, Complementary Natural Prescriptions for Common
Ailments, Carolyn Dean, M.D., offers these suggestions for CFS
patients: eat plenty of vegetables, engage in routine, gentle
exercise, get plenty of rest and take various natural supplements
such as the B vitamins, magnesium, vitamin C and a multiple
vitamin, along with evening primrose oil, cod liver oil or fish
oils.

"I would also add echinacea, and herbal-antibiotic that can be
taken on a regular basis to avoid reinfection (with the
Epstein-Barr virus), as well as B12 shots to increase the energy
level. B12 has the ability to strengthen the nervous system."

Apparently up to 90 percent of the population has antibodies
to the Epstein-Barr virus (the previous name for CFS), Dean said,
meaning that they have had an infection. For most people this
would probably seem like a cold or flu. But others can have
serious consequences, such as mononucleosis. The reactivation of
the virus, she added, can be severe and can leave the person
feeling fatigued, run down and "never well".

Dean added that CFS patients apparently have a reactivation of
the virus because their body was not strong enough to fight it
off or they came in contact with a chemical or pollutant that
undermined their resistance and allowed them to succumb to the
illness.

1. Push yourself to exercise regularly but not to become
exhausted.
2. Follow a low-protein, low-fat, high-complex-carbohydrate
diet.
3. Take an antioxidant vitamin supplement, plus a B-Complex
supplement.
4. Eat two cloves of raw garlic a day.
5. Take astragalus root for its antivaral and immune-enhancing
properties.
6. Avoid support groups if they give you ideas for new symptoms
or convey the impression that the disease will be with you for
the rest of your life.
7. Experiment with homeopathic remedies.
8. Ask your doctor to prescribe oxygen for home use and
experiment with inhaling it for 15 to 20 minutes once or twice a
day with his approval.
9. Do not despair. CFS is not a lifelong malady.

Because of the close alignment of nature, all living creatures
depend on magnesium to maintain the health and functioning of
their component cells, explained James B. Pierce, Ph.d., in Heart
Healthy Magnesium. In the mitochrondria of the cells--the sites
where glucose is oxidized-magnesium is chemically coupled with
adenosine triphosphate (ATP). This, he added, positions magnesium
as a catalytic agent at the seat of energy generation.

The process is complex, he continued, but the net effect is
that nuscular motion is powered by the energy released when
phosphoric acid molecules split off from ATP, leaving adenosine
diphosphate (ADP) as a product of the reaction.

"Of course," Pierce continued, "since energy is released to
the cell when ATP converts to ADP, the reverse
reaction--restoration of ATP from ADP--requires the input of
energy. The source of that energy is the oxidation of glucose
through a complex series of biochemical reactions."

This conversion of ATP to ADP, he continued, and of ADP back
into ATP, is the basic process that supplies the cells with the
energy they need to perform all of their appointed functions, and
it cannot take place without magnesium. This process, he added,
which produces muscular energy, is essential in the operation of
our hearts and vascular systems.

A magnesium deficiency may result in impaired neurotransmitter
functions, which may be part of the pathophysiology of
schizophrenia, according to J. Daniel Kanofsky, M.D., MPH, in the
International Journal of Neuroscience in 1991.
Magnesium-deficient patients may experience depression,
agitation, confusion and disorientation, he said.

He went on to say that psychotic behavior, including auditory
and visual hallucinations, has been reported in 50 percent of the
subjects with low magnesium levels in their blood. In
drug-treated schizophrenic patients, he added, magnesium levels
have been found to be consistently lower after neuroleptic
medications.

Blood levels of magnesium were evaluated in 20 chronic
institutionalized schizophrenic patinets getting neuroleptic
drugs, and 30 percent were also being given lithium carbonate. Of
the 20 patients, five had low blood levels of magnesium. Two
patients receiving lithium carbonate also had low blood levels of
magnesium.

Arrhythmias have been treated with magnesium supplementation,
Dipalma said. Some clinicians recommend all patients on thiazide
diuretics be candidates for magnesium supplementation. He added
that oral magnesium therapy is generally safe and may be an
underutilized mode of therapy. Recommended amounts of magnesium
range from 350 to 450 mg/day, with grains and nuts being good
food sources of the mineral.

With food processing, 75 percent of the magnesium is lost,
suggesting that the American diet provides only 40 percent of the
recommended daily allowance for the mineral, reported Sherry
Rogers, M.D., in International Medicine World Report in 1992. It
is estimated that 80 percent of the population is deficient in
magnesium, Rogers added.

Rogers went on to say that magnesium deficiency is prevalent
in psychiatric disorders such as anxiety, agitation and panic
attacks. Unfortunately, many of the disorders are related to an
unbalanced diet, since 25 to 75 percent of the typical American
diet is form processed foods, Rogers added.

Since magnesium is involved with over 300 enzymes in the body,
it is easy to see why this mineral is so important.

This page was first uploaded to The Magnesium Web Site on
October 9, 1995